International Journal of Health Sciences and Research Vol.10; Issue: 10; October 2020 Website: www.ijhsr.org Short Communication ISSN: 2249-9571 International Journal of Health Sciences and Research (www.ijhsr.org) 347 Vol.10; Issue: 10; October 2020 Good Researcher: Development of a Mnemonic as Quick Note for Novice Researchers Frincy Francis, Sheeba Elizabeth Johnsunderraj Lecturer, Maternal and Child Health Department, College of Nursing, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman. Corresponding Author: Frincy Francis ABSTRACT Research is an integral part of the healthcare system. Generating good research based evidences have improved the quality of healthcare provided. In the current era, the authenticity of a produced work is at times questionable due to the rise in unethical practices. It is time to curb it in order to stop the finger pointing culture towards scientific authors as those who lack international credibility and integrity. Where to start? We need to start while young. Molding the novice researchers while they are postgraduate students will pave the way for a brighter research future. The writers framed a mnemonic “Good Researcher” in order to reach the novice researchers and what qualities and skills they ideally need to acquire in their professional life and implement into practice to meet the ethical standards. Keywords: novice, research ethics, scientific integrity, plagiarism. BACKGROUND “No one is born with skill. It is developed through exercise, through repetition, through a blend of learning and reflection that’s both painstaking and rewarding. And it takes time”– Twyla Tharp. Today’s world we live in is surrounded by an invisible net of evidences. Any action specifically in the field of medicine demands a strong research based evidence. Every field is looking forward to implement a proven solution for a better outcome. Gone are those days of trial and error especially in the healthcare sectors where the safety of the client is essential. The consumers of healthcare, our clients in the hospitals are equipped with knowledge from the Internet. They seek clarifications often when a healthcare professional wants to implement any specific intervention. Hence there is a widespread need to be updated to recent evidence based practices and adorn the role of a researcher to contribute to the scientific body of knowledge. Research is a growing field where a variety of contributions can be made to one’s profession but most often research is seen upon as an extra burden due to varied reasons like lack of time, lack of appropriate knowledge of how to go about with it or simply because of lack of interest. In order to improve research productivity in a positive way the organizations have included them as a criterion in their performance appraisal as well. Promotions are based on publications too. (1) Academicians and researchers are gearing forward in scholarly publications and achievements it is quite essential to reflect the way one chooses to achieve it. Plagiarism which is the “Cut Copy Paste Culture” is on the rise and hence it questions the authencity of the data published. Many other practices are academic text recycling, (2) ghost authoring, (3) salami slicing of one research that’s